


an endgame strategy where the king doesn't die.

by apocalypsepoet



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Carol Danvers & Tony Stark Friendship, F/M, Fix-It, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Stark Family, i just want morgan and peter and harley to get into loads of trouble, i love thinking about how tony probably adopted nebula and carol, i refuse to believe that my number 1 guy is dead ok, peter and morgan and harley are more proof that tony stark has a heart, she saved his ass how can he not wanna be friends with her, this is just me being dumb and soft and wanting a happy ending for all my loves, this story has no actual danger
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-04-06 21:39:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19071187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apocalypsepoet/pseuds/apocalypsepoet
Summary: Tony Stark wakes up in a softly lit room; nothing like he’d pictured the end to be. More of bright white and the end of a tunnel, finding an old friend and playing chess for eternity. Losing every game except one.His only win played on a broken battlefield surrounded by his queen and his knights and rooks and bishops and pawns scattered around the board.The enemy thinks he’s won but the king sacrifices himself for his kingdom.That's his winning strategy.That’s the endgame.





	1. Chapter 1

“And I,” he begins, gritting his teeth in agony yet does not waver in the slightest; lifting his hand up in defiance, ready to snap. Rhodey’s face flashes through his mind; the utter relief he felt all those years ago when he rescued his ass in the middle of the desert. Nat’s bright smirk in response to a snarky comment, and her absolutely destroying Happy in the ring. Happy yelling at him for being ridiculous while holding back a laugh. Peter vanishing in his arms so long ago now, in his arms once again but very much alive. He never told the kid how important he is. Or how much he loves him.

“...am,” he continues, pure rage and love and courage coursing through his veins. He sees—no, feels—his first kiss with Pepper on that rooftop surrounded by city lights and distant explosions. And their last kiss, right before he left to literally travel through time, long and messy and somehow knowing. Knowing that somehow, someway, this was their last. And then—

Morgan.

His Morguna, with her bright eyes and chubby cheeks, sass to match his own and the unrelenting stubbornness of her mother. He’d do anything for her. Anything and everything that his own father didn’t. He’s saving the world for her, Tony tells himself. He’s doing this for her. For her, and Pepper, and Rhodey and Happy and Nat and Peter freaking Parker. Tony Stark meets Thanos’ eyes, seeing nothing but fear and acceptance looking back at him. Tony Stark feels a warm sense of peace wash over him. Tony Stark stares death in the face, unafraid as he whispers his final words.

“...Iron Man.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve Rogers smiles for the first time in five years. And then...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im @stardustly on tumblr! thanks for reading, and for your kudos and comments! i don't know if im going to continue to post as chapters or post the rest of it when im done, so be on the lookout for these notes!

Steve watches as the enemy falls to ash and dust; they did it, the Avengers won! He sees his team—friends— _ no _ ,  _ family _ , scattered around what’s left of the compound, and Steve Rogers smiles for the first time in 5 years. But then he looks around and sees Scott still in the van. His grin falters. If he and Hope didn’t get the van running or put the stones back, then how…? 

_ Oh. _

Steve Rogers runs. Runs as fast as he can, to the other end of the war zone where Thanos turns to dust and Tony Stark has just collapsed. Rhodey, Pepper and the kid are already there. And Tony, he looks bad. Like, really, really bad. Steve grabs the kid because he completely fell apart after Pepper pulled him away, so she can say goodbye, so she can give her husband the only thing she can: comfort and love and peace until the end. 

Peter struggles in his arms, whimpering, begging. “Please, sir– _ Captain _ , please. I have to go, I have—he was…I  _ wanna…go _ . Let me go!” Injured as he was, Steve keeps his grip on Peter, and then he recalls the first thing Tony said when he got off that ship. _ I lost the kid.  _ There was no way in hell that Tony let this kid die alone. Must’ve held him until he was gone, and long after that. But he saw how badly that broke Tony; how Peter’s death alone was the driving force behind all of this. Steve couldn’t let that happen to this young kid. He wouldn’t. Not again, not after his uncle, or his parents. So he held on, a whispered “I’m sorry,” dying on his lips.

Then, suddenly Thor is behind him yelling, “Bruce! Strange! We have to help him! You’re doctors! Fix him!” Pepper flinches at the noise, looking back with grief glaring back at the small group that keeps growing. She shushes the god of thunder and shakes her head. She turns back to her husband, a quiet spark of recognition in his eyes as they meet hers and he smiles.

“Hey, Pep.” She smiles back but it is pained. It’s broken. 

“Tony, look at me. Look at me.” 

Behind him, Steve hears Quill’s soft “No…” as Nebula grabs his forearm. She looks down at the battleground. She’s been here already, in this place, Steve realizes. About to lose Tony.

“We’re going to be okay,”

Peter is still struggling against him. Nebula reaches out and smooths his hair down. The kid stops fighting to look up at her. Steve follows, and finds tears in her eyes, threatening to spill. Steve looks over at Thor, who is seconds away from absolutely losing it. Their eyes meet and Steve shakes his head. They both know that Pepper Potts is right; she is the boss, after all. Thor takes a few steps back and hangs his head. 

“You can rest now.”

Tony’s light flickers. Pepper rests her hand on it; the very proof that Tony Stark has a heart. He slowly brings his own hand to place atop hers. And then something strange happens. The armor on his right arm seemingly melds to the burnt skin, covering it completely. Friday should have retracted it; kings don’t wear armor, after all. He’s not supposed to die here, like this. He’s not supposed to die at all. His knights– _ family _ –the ones who asked him to be here, the ones who only got this far because of him, they failed. Every sacrifice on the board will be for nothing if the king gets captured.

Tony breathes in, out, pained but strong. His suit is sparking and broken and seems to breathe with its creator. Light flickers once, twice, and then goes out. His last breath is taken with his eyes open, looking at the love of his life, and he’s still smiling. Pepper lets out a heartbreaking, strangled cry. His hand falls down and Pepper closes his eyes. And then Thor shouts. And then Peter is holding onto Steve for dear life. And then the suit beeps. And then Carol appears, yelling for someone to do something, anything, and Gamora comes up to her sister, who is now visibly crying, and the rest of the guardians follow behind and then the suit makes a strangled noise, much like Pepper’s cry, and it seems to sigh and tighten and then Bruce appears with Strange, Scott, Hope, and then, and then, and then—

“Gauntlet protocol is now complete. Life sustainability at 52 percent. Boss requires immediate medical intervention to preserve life.” 

Light flicks on.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Try. What an awful word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well screw schedules am I right kids??? 
> 
> this is my formal apology.

_then_  

“We can save him, we have saved white men before.”

The group tore their eyes away from Tony, to Shuri, pushing her way to the front while T’Challa smacks her arm. “This is no time to joke, Shuri.” 

“I am not joking, we can save him,” she insisted. Followed by a quieter, “I can save him.”

An eerie silence washed over what’s left of the compound. Rhodey exchanged looks with Steve, Clint, Thor, and Bruce, shaking his head. What’s left of the original Avengers is a devastating sight. They seem so much smaller without Natasha. Without Tony. 

Pepper spoke first. “Friday, will he make it to Wakanda?”

“By my calculations, if you leave right now and travel at least 200 miles per hour, he will most likely survive.” Pepper sucked in a breath. Everything’s been destroyed, or turned to ash. She can’t imagine her life without him. But could she really justify trying to get him thousands of miles away from here, hurting him, disturbing him, where he may not even live long enough to be saved? Rhodey laid a hand on her shoulder and whispered something only she heard. She tried and failed to hide her faint cry. Steve’s face fell, watching Pepper Potts fall apart, and Bruce grew angrier by the second. “If Nat were here,” Bruce gestured around. “We’d be halfway to Wakanda already.” Clint nodded his head and stepped closer to Bruce.

“I will have to power down in order to sustain life soon, but I can initiate the glo—“ Friday’s soft voice drowned in the brief chaos that followed Clint’s words. “Banner’s right. She wouldn’t want us to give up.” And Steve never thought he’d see the five stages of grief play out in one man’s eyes all at once, but staring into Clint’s tore his breath from his lungs. _Nat_.

 _See you in a minute._  

_We’re her family._

_I used to have nothing._

_I got this family._

_I was better because of it._

_And even though they're gone I'm still trying to be better._

Silence blanketed them once more. They’re right, Steve thought. Natasha would fight everyone on this very field until they agreed on just how to save Tony Stark. But Pepper shook her head, her jaw set. “No, she’d–”

“So, what, you’re just gonna let him _die_ here?” Peter cut her off in frustration. “Is this what he wanted? Dying on what’s left of his own compound? How long will that even take, Friday?” The kid yelled, tried desperately to free himself of Steve’s hold.

“Approximately 264 minutes.”

_See you in a minute._

“That’s—he’s— _Please_ Miss Potts.” She flinched at the use of her last name. “We have to try.” 

Try. What an awful word. Tony _tried_ to save the kid, Tony _tried_ to ignore the nagging feeling that he was missing something, Tony _tried_ to move forward, Tony _tried_ to put it in a lockbox and chuck it into the ocean, Tony _tried_ to protect everyone, Tony _tried_ to wield the gauntlet. Tony Stark tried and tried, refused to give up, to give in, and yet there he lay; beaten and barely breathing. Pepper decided then, in that moment; no more trying. It was the time to do. There’s no chance of them finding a way to Wakanda in under four hours. She knew this was coming; she knew their last kiss would be their _last_ kiss. _You were right,_ her mind whispered, _all those years ago, when you told him he was going to get himself killed and that you’d have no part in it._ Only, she was wrong about one thing: she was grateful and honored to be a part of it, with him, at his side until the end. This beautiful, broken man was _hers_ . And she knows what he’d want. What he _wants._ Her voice did not waver, quiet but strong; echoing across battlefields and oceans and galaxies.

“No.”

Peter stiffened in Steve’s arms, a few gasps heard among the growing crowd of Avengers, and a loud smack was heard–Thor dropped Mjölnir into the ash-covered dirt. Steve opened his mouth to object, but Peter beat him to it.

“That’s four hours! We can figure something out!” Pepper turned to face the kid, something unreadable on her face, masking what briefly looked like hope. She inhaled.

“I said no.”

_Exhale._

“Why–” His voice broke. “–bring me back then? So I can watch him die?” 

_Inhale. Count one, two, three._

“Peter, no– _no_ , I…He just–he wanted to rest.” She began to cry again. 

_Exhale._

“Please. He–he couldn't rest until he,” She hiccupped. “Until he saved you.” She gestured weakly to the group, but her eyes locked on to Peter’s. _Until he saved_ **_you._** That stilled Peter. He couldn’t have known. He couldn’t have known that he was behind all of this, that he mattered so much to Tony Stark that the guy solved time travel, went into the past, to one of the most traumatic experiences of his life, then had to go back further, then took all six infinity stones from Thanos and snapped just to save him. Peter Parker couldn’t process that yet–he wouldn’t. Rather than think about all of it, anger flared in him once more; but not at Pepper, not at anyone. Peter’s angry at the world, the galaxy, the universe. His father figures keep dying on him, and he’s starting to think he might be cursed. Tears filled his eyes again and a sob wracked through his body as he yelled, louder and louder, breaking the hearts of everyone around him.

“So he gets to watch me turn all dusty after making it clear I shouldn’t even be in space, not rest ‘till he solved it, fixed it, brought us back, brought _me_ back, just so _I_ can watch _him_ die? How–how the hell’s that _fair_ ? How ‘s _that_ what he wanted?”

She continued. “Peter, please. I’m so–I’m so sorry. We won’t make it–” hiccup. “–in time. And even if we did–” hiccup. “–there’s no certainty that he’ll even live,” and then a smaller, hollow “I don’t wanna lose him, either.” Pepper then turned back to her husband, his breathing shallow, laid her hand back over his heart. “It didn’t matter the cost to him. He knew he mi–might not,”

“No sorrys needed Miss Potts, ‘m not gonna stop ‘till I fix this and–and save him.” He grew limp in Steve’s arms; too tired to fight it anymore. He’d fix it, even if he had to steal the stones, or time travel, or whatever. He won’t let Tony die, because then that would be on _him_.

Nebula reached out, then, and touched Peter’s arm softly; pulled him back, out of Steve’s grip and away from the rest of them. He looked up at her, eyes shining, searching for answers. “Spider-boy. Peter Parker. There is nothing to fix.” 

“There _is_. I–I can’t,” he sucked in a breath. “Can’t do this without him. Don’t know how.”

“Peter. In the time I spent in space with him after everything, after he lost you, he would only talk _of_ you. How brave you were, and courageous. How much of an idiot you were sometimes which made no sense to him because you’re very intelligent.” Peter huffed a tiny laugh. “I don’t know what a father’s love feels like, but I saw it in his eyes every moment he talked of you. He loves you. And I know that he’d agree that dying to bring you back, to bring you _home,_ would be worth it.”

* * *

 

Pepper sighed. God, Tony loves that kid. And in a way, maybe by association, maybe because he’s just that wonderful, she loves him as well. But Peter’s reaction was one she did not expect. She had no idea the mighty strength of their bond; now she knows if the roles had been reversed, if Tony had been the one to vanish, Peter would do anything and everything to save her husband. The kid wouldn’t rest. How would she try to stop him when she couldn’t even–?

What’s the point of hoping, of praying, of wishing for miracles? Why give in to that hope? Because Shuri assuring her that they can save him, that’s hope. Because getting Tony to Wakanda, that’s hope. But Pepper saw his arm, saw his face. Burnt, bruised, bloody, broken. She thought it better to squash the hope now, where there’s not much to have anyway, rather than travel five thousand miles staring at all the hope in Peter’s big, watery eyes. 

Pepper wants to erase the word from the universe. 

“If we had our ship…” Pepper looked down at Rocket, who placed his small hand on Tony’s face. “He, uh, ya know, saved my family.” 

“Or I could have, if I’d been…” Strange didn’t have the strength to finish that sentence. He could have saved him. Sent him through a bright orange portal to the doorstep of a Wakandan doctor. He _would_ have. This, this whole mess was his fault. But it was the only way. The only chance they had out of 14 million possibilities. Stephen cursed. A friend, a good man, is going to die because of what he knew. But could haves and what ifs are useless in death. No one could possibly undo what’s been done here, today. Unless…

“Um, if his suit can navigate, I can get him wherever he needs to be.” Now the group turned to Carol. She started to glow, as if to prove her point. She gestured to Tony. “This asshole has saved me more times than I can count in the last five years. I’m not fond of the idea of coming back to Earth if he’s not on it anymore.”

Carol Danvers. Captain Marvel. Tony’s newest buddy (frequently known as newest family addition. Pepper was hesitant at first, but as soon as Morgan met her, there was no turning Auntie Carol away). 

After killing Thanos, she’d pop in occasionally. Her and Pepper would have wine dates and shitty movie marathons, and she’d have sleepovers with Morgan, and she’d help Tony out in his lab, or gardening, or fishing, like the old folks they are. But on rare nights, when they weren’t expecting her, she’d fly down from the stars with tear tracks on her cheeks and Tony would usher her into his lab. More than once, Pepper has heard them cry together. Carol lost more than she let on. The next morning, Tony would be holding onto his wife like his life depended on her very presence, and she’d have to carefully maneuver around to not wake him. And she’d always find Carol on the floor next to Morgan’s bed, holding her daughter’s favorite stuffed duck. 

The masked hope on Pepper’s face came back. Steve sucked in a breath and Peter turned away from Nebula to Carol. He broke out into a run once he realized how far apart they were. Off balance and crying, the kid all but fell into Carol’s arms. She held on tight, willing his pieces back together. She’s only known this kid twenty minutes but would already do anything for him. She soothed his hair, like she would with Goose, with Monica, with Morgan.

“How fast can you fly?” Peter’s voice is so small, so quiet. 

“I’ve been clocked at around 3 times the speed of sound a few times,” she whispered back.

Peter’s head shot up and he turned to Pepper, smiling through tears. “Friday?”

“Boss has 4 hours, Miss Danvers can make it in 3.” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> whatifwhatifwhatif?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here have another one.  
> this one is basically just a shitpost. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Rhodey, who had been completely quiet during all of the back and forth, looked up from his dying best friend to the group. “Hold up, even if we do get him to Wakanda alive, how would we even begin to save his life? We’ve got no idea what kind of damage those stones did to an alien, let alone a moronic old man.”

“As I’ve tried to mention before I power down to keep the suit on, I can initiate the Glowstick Protocol that became available after SACRIFICE was triggered by the stones.”

Everyone turned to look at the dying man before them. Friday’s voice filled the desolate landscape. 

“I need to power down most programs. But I need confirmation from Miss Potts to activate the Glowstick Protocol.”

Rhodey, tears barely drying on his cheeks, started to laugh as he registered Friday’s words. Pepper shook her head but a smirk wormed its way onto her face before she too became caught up in Rhodey’s infectious laughter. The remaining Avengers looked at each other with confusion and concern. Rhodey took a breath.

“This asshole,” he gestured to Tony. “Really named a whole ass protocol SACRIFICE.” More laughter escaped the man. “God I hate him. If he wasn’t already dying I’d kill him myself.” Rhodey clutched at his armored side, resting his other hand on Pepper’s shoulder. 

“While you’re laughing, I’m shutting down most of the system and transferring to the Rescue suit. Be right back.” Pepper stopped laughing to briefly look around at the many pairs of wide eyes and then, “Hello Miss Potts. Have you reconsidered your—” 

“Wait, wait, Friday. What’s SACRIFICE stand for?”

“Mr. Rhodes, now is not,“

“Friday, please.” The AI sighed, she’d roll her eyes so hard if she had any. 

“Stones Are Compromised; Remember Inconvenient Foresight In Case of Emergency.” 

At that, Rhodey lost it again. Only instead of just his unsettling laugh against the grim backdrop of silence, Thor, Bruce, and Strange joined him, amongst more confusion. 

“Explain, Fri.” 

Friday continued. “If the infinity stones are detected, as they were, the gauntlet protocol would activate, opening the built-in gauntlet Mr. Stark installed in his suit. The nanotechnology within his arc reactor would act as both defense and offense, protecting his body from the stones as well as doing damage control on any injuries. The damage is significantly severe, but after carefully analyzing Thanos’ remains five years ago, he was able to specifically design methods of protection. He also implemented the option of the Glowstick Protocol, which can be activated if the SACRIFICE Protocol––.” 

“What does _that_ mean, Friday?”

“The short answer is that Boss is a genius.”

“No, we  _all_ know _that_. I meant the Glowstick Protocol.”

“Carol Danvers, James.”

“Is he in any pain, Friday?” Peter’s voice cut in so tiny, so sudden.

“No, the nanotechnology is working to properly set all injuries, clot blood, and act as relief. It is taking a lot to keep the suit stable, which is why I had to switch systems. Plus, he _is_ unconscious.”

“What’s he at now?”

“49%. Obviously the longer you stand around here, the rate of survival decreases. However, again if you allow me to engage in the Glowstick Protocol now, he is likely to make almost a complete recovery.”

Carol rolled her eyes at the nickname and mumbled a ‘I am not a goddamn glowstick’.

Rhodey seemed apprehensive. “Almost?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, the damage done to his arm is worse than anything, and will most likely need to be removed. But I’d like to point out that he is very dear to me, and urge you to reconsider your decision, Miss Potts.”

“Who the hell’s gonna do that?”

“Not all the doctors were dusted, James.” Okoye stepped out from behind some of the others. “I can alert them to be ready, and to send a jet.” 

“No, I mean, who's the poor sucker that has to _tell_ him about his arm?” He cracked a soft smile, then released a long and heavy breath with a “Pepper?” But is met with silence. She instead brushed the hair out of Tony’s face, ran her hand down his cheek, and leaned in so their foreheads touched. He moved and she stilled; a small “Pep,” falling from his lips. “No—fru—ops Morgan,” he mumbled before slipping back, far away from her. 

Pepper kissed his cheek, whispered “I love you,” and turned to Carol. “Friday, are you sure he will survive if they leave now?” 

“Absolutely. My calculations are never wrong. Do you want me to engage in the Glowstick Protocol?” 

Pepper inhaled. Fresh tears made their way down her cheeks. A thousand what ifs played in her mind. What if his brain is too damaged? What if losing his arm will be too much? What if his nightmares come back, but they’re worse? 

_Exhale._

What if he pushes through it all?

_Inhale._

What if he gets to watch Morgan grow up? 

_Count one, two—_

What if after all the universe took from him, it’s finally ready to give some of it back? 

_—three._

What if he’s not ready to die anymore?

_Exhale._

“Do it.”

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He mentally smacks himself in the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi im emotional after writing this bc I love pepper and tony so so much ok enjoy love y’all

Tony Stark doesn’t want to die anymore.

* * *

_now._

Flickering lights. Yelling, arguing, fighting. Soft whispers and tiny, furry hands and warm drops of water on cheeks turning cold. Aching muscle and crushed bones. The smell of burning metal; of burning skin. A memory of a titan disintegrating, of a kid crying, of blinding, white hot pain. The voices of Friday, of Peter, of Pepper. 

 _Pepper_. 

Tony Stark wakes up in a softly lit room; nothing like he’d pictured the end to be. Less of a warm, comforting, homey space, and more bright white and a light-at-the-end-of-a-tunnel, finding-an-old-friend-and-playing-chess for eternity kind of end. Losing every game of course, except one.

His only win played on a broken battlefield surrounded by his queen and his knights and rooks and bishops and pawns scattered around the board.

The enemy thinks he’s won but the king sacrifices himself for his kingdom.

That’s his winning strategy. That’s the endgame. 

But Tony doesn’t feel dead, and he’s come real close a few times, so he thinks he should definitely know what that feels like by now. He lifts his left arm, and it looks real enough. Bends his stiff fingers, cracks his bruised wrist. Dead? Possibly. Uploaded consciousness into whatever cloud is up there? Maybe. Afterlife? Doubtful. He then tries to lift his right arm but it’s so heavy and—metal? Metal. Why would he have a metal arm? Did he body snatch Barnes, or something? Tony tries to lift it again. Not just any metal, it’s—

He mentally smacks himself in the face.

_Gauntlet protocol._

Apparently, Tony Stark doesn’t really know how to die. Chess will have to wait awhile. He smiles softly to himself, remembering his last thought before succumbing to darkness. 

_Don’t waste your life._

Tony grunts and as soon as he opens his mouth to call out to someone, anyone, Pepper is there and he swears he must be dead because she looks like an angel. His savior. His rescue.

“Tony…? Oh my god.” 

Haven’t they been here before?

“Hey Miss Potts.” His voice is weak, quiet, small. Nothing like anything she’s used to, and it shakes her to her core. Pepper climbs into the bed, scoots right up against her husband. Caresses his bruised face, kisses each healing cut and scrape, holds on and never lets go again. His heartbeat is strong, his light bright. 

“I was going to let you rest, Tony. I was. But you had three protocols. _Three_!” She rolls her eyes and he grabs her hand. “I tried. For you, I tried.”

“Pepper.” 

“Hm?” He brings her hand to his cracked lips.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t you _ever_ do anything like that again.” He laughs, Pepper tightening her grip on his hand. “I mean it _Anthony_.”

“I won’t, _Virginia_. I promise you.”

Pepper presses her forehead into his shoulder. Tony nudges her, whispering.

“I’m glad you stuck by me all these years, even when you didn’t want to.” 

_You're going to kill yourself, Tony. I'm not going to be a part of it._

“Didn’t have much of a choice, you signed my checks _and_ promoted me.”

“Only ‘cause you were the hottest out of all my employees.” Pepper laughs, and it’s the most beautiful music Tony has ever heard.

“I am so in love with you, you moronic selfless man.”

A pause.

“Is everyone,” Tony starts. He breathes in. “Are they, is Peter—“

“Everyone is okay. They’re back, everyone’s alive, breathing, and Peter’s being a pain in my ass. If you ever did have a long-lost son, he’d probably be a lot like Peter.” Tony smiles. “Unless he _is_ your long-lost son, in which case Morgan would—“

“Pep,” he turns to look at her. “Where _is_ Morguna?”

“Probably blowing up Shuri’s lab with Peter and Cassie Lang.”

“That’s our girl.”

After a few quiet moments, Tony tries to wiggle his right fingers with little success.

“Hey, Pep,” he says, motioning to his new prosthetic. “You think Bucky would give me a hand with this?”

Pepper tries really hard not to laugh. She laughs anyway. 

“Get some rest, your body isn’t what it used to be.”

“Are you calling me old?”

“Yep.”

“Wow.”

“Hey, but if you’re old, I’m old.”

“Old- _er_.”

“Yeah, yeah, keep rubbing that in my face,” she smiles. “The doctors want you to get more rest before you’re surrounded by excitement.”

“Will do, boss.”

“Damn right.” Pepper moves over to give him some more room. Tony grabs her wrist, holding her in place.

“Is my face gonna scar? ‘Cause if my good looks go with my age, we’re doomed.” Pepper’s eyes soften as she delicately flutters her fingers around his injured side. 

“Oh, baby. You lost your looks years ago.” Tony feigns offense, his jaw dropping as far as the pain would let it. “T’Challa assured me that your face will heal nicely. Minimum scarring.” She kisses his forehead. “Now sleep. I love you.”

”Stay here.”

”Always.” She settles more comfortably beside her husband once again. Hand still in his, Pepper closes her eyes and listens to the heart that saved the universe beat loudly. She kisses his chest as she lets a few relieved tears slip through. Tony shifts slightly, squeezing her hand.

“One more thing.”

“Go to sleep.”

“Marry me.”

She pauses; looks up at him through shining eyes.

“I did already, remember?” She wiggles her fingers in front of his face, showing off her simple band.

“I know, but. Everyone’s here now. Plus, it wasn’t even really official. And I know one marriage to Tony Stark is probably enough for three lifetimes but I just, you are the most important person in my life and I, I just, I love you _so much_ , and I—“ 

Pepper reaches up and presses her lips to Tony’s. It’s brief, it’s soft, but it’s enough. 

“I’d marry you every day, Tony Stark.”

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is @stardustly and i'd love to talk to youuuu <3
> 
> thanks for reading friends!


End file.
